Kealakekua Bay Snorkel Cruise

So fun...and relaxing. Just taking in the scenery was amazing enough. The crew was great. Would do it again.

This tour was the best snorkeling experience I have ever had. The captain and crew of the boat were courteous, helpful and always ready to help. The snorkeling was amazing and the boat had the best borrow equipment I have ever used. Will visit them again on my next trip!

Great cruise but I feel one of the divers should have come into the water to help the beginners. Also one of the lady employees was a little rude when we asked questions about the snorkeling equipment.

Amazing trip. We were a large group of eight three adults, one teenager, two pre-teen, and two children and we had the trip booked well in advance. The location was eay to find and there was ample parking at their parking lot. The embarkation was smooth and easy. We sat on top tier of the boat and had a great view of the bay. We were lucky during our trip to see a Manta ray during the day time. The snacks on the boat included juice, water, and fruits, and there was alcohol for sale as well. The Captain and crew were great. The crew came to where you were and asked for the shoe sizes and brought the snorkel gear to you. The captain was great about explaining the historic significance of the area and the importance of being in protected waters. He also came by and talked to each family on the tour, and since some of us were novice at snorkeling he was very good about explaining all the safety gear available and really putting us at ease about snorkeling for the first time. We did see a lot of spinner dolphins but did not swim with them up-close, although there seemed to be some people on kayaks and canoes who were able to do so with another group. We all were able to see amazing fish and coral that honestly just can't be captured by photos and videos. My kids also used the slides and were able to jump of the platform on the top tier of the boat. We were in the water for a long time but it felt like we could have stayed longer. We all had smiles and still talk about the trip and kids have requested a repeat the next time we are in Hawaii.

This cruise was so much fun! The boat had a slide and a high dive for jumping into the water. The snorkeling wasn't the best but the visibility was pretty good overall not a lot of colorful fish and coral. The crew was friendly and the boat ride to the snorkeling area was nice and relaxing.

The cruise started out just fine. The staff was friendly and welcoming. However, shortly after leaving the pier, the captain announced that they would be fishing along the way and would need to stop the boat for however long it took to reel in a big fish. When the crew did in fact hook a fish, the captain stopped the boat. To make matters worse, he informed us that once the fish was to the boat he would bash its head in with a baseball bat. Fortunately, after working to reel the fish in, it got away. There was nothing in the description of this snorkeling cruise to indicate that any of this would/could happen. We paid for a snorkeling trip to view fish and other sea life in their natural habitat. We did not pay to have the crew use our snorkeling time to stop the boat for them the crew was fishing not the passengers to fish. Nor did we pay to see them bash in the head of a fish! We wanted a peaceful afternoon with nature. We are animal-lovers and vegan and the captain/crew behavior was very upsetting. Knowing that the return trip would also involve the crew fishing ruined the snorkeling time for us. My group would have chosen a different cruise had there been ANY indication of fishing/head bashing, or the crew taking away from our time snorkeling to do those activities, in the description. We all felt deceived by the company due to the omission of this information.

We heard about this tour from a lot of people on the Island and we were glad to have booked it in advance 3 months ago. We opted for the snuba dive at the tour itself and it was the best decision of the day. Our Snuba guide, Mike, was very knowledgeable and gave us a detailed 15-minute training on what to expect and how to go about the snuba dive safely. He made sure everyone was on the same page during the dive and showed us some amazing corals, sea urchins, octopus, and a lot of colorful fish. He was also checking our pressure gauge at regular intervals during the half hour snuba dive. After that wonderful experience, we still had around 15 to 25 minutes to snorkel around the bay. We had a great time overall and enjoyed the scenic views all around us. We also managed to catch a glimpse of a hammer head shark on our way to the bay. During the return trip to the shore, we were delighted by the presence of dolphins around the boat whilst enjoying delicious fruits and chips as a snack. We also saw a baby Manta Ray in the bay from the boat !!!!

We actually swam with swarms of dolphins - we were so close to some we could have even touched them -- but one does not!!! It was a wonderful and unforgetable day for our family of 20! Janet B.

We had a fantastic experience on the afternoon snorkel cruise. As we left the boat at the end of our cruise, my 7-year-old grandson said This was so great. Let's do this again the next time we come to Hawaii! The boat crew was friendly, helpful, and professional. We were fortunate to see a humpback whale breaching as we made our to the Captain Cook Monument site. At the site, we had about 90 minutes of snorkel and fun time--it went by quickly! My grandson loved the slides and high dive. My husband and I enjoyed some amazing snorkeling. We snorkeled at a few other sites on the Big Island during our vacation, but this was definitely the most spectacular. As we began our snorkel, the boat captain drew our attention to a few spinner dolphins nearby. He asked that we not chase them, or try to get closer to them, as they come to the area to rest. It was a thrill to see them close by, both at the surface and underneath the water, but I was glad when the captain asked some of the snorkelers who had started to follow the dolphins to stop. I really appreciate this commitment to minimal impact on wildlife.